Quinn Cook and the rest of the Blue Devils will be on top of the AP Poll Monday. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

With Butler's 88-86 overtime win over No. 1 Indiana on Saturday, Duke will be the No. 1 team in the polls when they are released Monday. It will be the first time since the week of Feb. 21, 2011 that the Blue Devils have claimed the top spot.

Coming into this year, Duke has been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll in 10 of the last 15 seasons. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has had the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Poll for 104 weeks during his career, the highest number among active coaches. North Carolina's Roy Williams ranks second with 57 weeks at No. 1. 

Jabari Parker, the No. 2 recruit in the country, is close to making a college choice. Credit: AP

If you missed it, prized basketball recruit Jabari Parker announced Wednesday that he will make his college choice Dec. 20. The recruiting analysts feel like it will come down to Duke or Michigan State. You can check out the full story here.

The one large advantage Michigan State has over Duke is that it’s much closer to Parker’s Chicago home. As a general rule of thumb, the longer it takes a player to make a decision, the greater the chance he stays close to home, but that’s certainly not foolproof logic. Mike Krzyzewski has done well recruiting in Chicago, drawing players like Jon Scheyer, Corey Maggette, Chris Collins and Sean Dockery. At this point, no one—not even Parker’s father—knows which way he is leaning.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski thought Seth Curry was the difference-maker for Duke in its win over Kentucky. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

ATLANTA—It was a matchup with March Madness-level intensity. And here's a fittingly in-depth analysis from yours truly: 

First: the game story from No. 9 Duke's 75-68 win over No. 3 Kentucky and the full story behind John Calipari's comments on Duke flopping at halftime.

***Duke needs all three of its seniors to be successful.

The trio of Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry is greater than the sum of its individual parts. That’s not to say that, as individuals, they’re not good, but the three of them clicking on the court will be necessary for future Duke success.

 The five winning designs for this year's Duke Children's Hospital Cards. 

Mike Krzyzewski has been at Duke 33 years. For 32 of those, he has been the chairman of the Duke Children's Card Program.

Every year, the Duke Children's Hospital & Health Center hold a contest in which kids from all over North Carolina submit designs for all-occasion and holiday card contest. Wednesday morning, Krzyzewski introduced each of the artists and their designs and also filmed a few TV and radio advertisements with the winners.

He also asked each of them about the ideas behind their designs.

Mike Krzyzewski's radio show kicks off its eighth season tonight with a great anecdote from Louisville's Rick Pitino. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

A few programming notes for Duke sports fans:

*Wednesday (tonight) at 7 p.m., Mike Krzyzewski will kick off the eighth season of his "Basketball and Beyond" Sirius XM radio show. Like the title suggests, Krzyrewski talks about hoops and other topics that interest him. Tonight's guests include Louisville coach Rick Pitino and Orioles manager Buck Showalter. The hyperlinks on their names contain preview sound bites. Check it out. 

When asked about the Lance Thomas situation, Mike Krzyzewski said he doesn't know what happened. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CHARLOTTE—Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski told the media Wednesday that he doesn’t know the circumstances surrounding Lance Thomas’s December 2009 jewelry purchase.

“No, I don’t know what happened,” Krzyzewski said. “In Lance’s situation, when we heard the rumor of his lawsuit, we contacted our administration in early September. And they then contacted the NCAA. And what they’re doing is looking into it. There’s no investigation, they’re looking into it. We have to make sure that we honor the integrity of that process in moving along. That’s what I’ve tried to do, and that’s really about all I can say about it. That’s just the way it works.”

Thomas purchased $97,800 worth of custom jewelry on Dec. 21, 2009, midway through his senior year. He made a $30,000 down payment and signed a purchase agreement to pay the balance within 15 days. Thomas defaulted on his payment. Raefello & Co. filed a lawsuit in January after repeated attempts to collect payment. The lawsuit was made public in September, and both parties had reached a settlement later that month.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford said the Duke has kept the league office informed.

Mike Krzyzewski isn't a fan of voting in preseason polls. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

CHARLOTTE—Media members met in Charlotte today for the 50th annual ACC Operation Basketball, and part of the festivities included making a few predictions. For the first time since 1975, NC State was picked to win the league, and Duke finished a a relatively close second. That's exactly how I voted as well. Speaking of my ballot, here it is:

All the Duke contingency, including head coach Mike Krzyzewski, enjoyed the trip to Fort Bragg. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

FORT BRAGG, N.C.—Duke took advantage of fall break and spent Sunday and Monday down at Fort Bragg, one of the largest military installations in the country. For Mike Krzyzewski, it was a return back to his days in the military as a cadet at West Point and eventual captain. For Jeff Capel, it was a trip back home, to the post where he father was stationed for much of his childhood. And for one particular captain, it was an opportunity to meet a man he idolized. Click here for the full story.

Lance Thomas's former teammates, Ryan Kelly and Mason Plumlee, have nothing but postive memories of him. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

DURHAM—When news broke that Lance Thomas was being sued after failing to pay for nearly $100,000 of jewelry he bought his senior year, it caught his one-time teammates off guard.

“It was kind of shocking,” said Mason Plumlee, a freshman on the 2010 national championship team. “You come to the locker room everyday, and you hear about other schools, ‘oh this happened at Ohio State, this happened in football,’ but you think you’re exempt or something because you’re at Duke, but you’re not. Again, we don’t know where he got the money from, what actually happened.”

Mike Krzyzewski's consumer appeal has grown significantly since he took over Team USA. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY- cliddy@newsobserver.com

If you haven't seen my Sunday story on Mike Krzyzewski and how the Olympics have endeared him to UNC and NC State fans (at least right now), check it out if you have the time. 

One of my favorite nuggets from that story is the part on his Q score. That number, which is used to measure the commercial appeal of programs, brands and people, is a function of awareness (how many people know who or what you are) and likability (of those that know you, do they have postive reactions to you).